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FOOTBALL

In College Football, South Carolina Is a State of Disappointment | WSJ.com
I know it's the day before the Furman game, but let's lead with a few more interesting topics. First off, who knew the WSJ covered the Gamecocks?

The Gamecocks are one of just two major-conference teams to never have played in the Rose, Orange, Sugar, Fiesta or Cotton bowls or reach the Elite Eight in men's basketball. The other is South Florida, which only began playing football in 1997. The Gamecocks have been at it since 1892.

Ah, I see they're familiar with our work. And we even get the in-depth analysis that The State doesn't deem important.

Talented high-school players often fail to meet NCAA academic standards, and the state winds up producing fewer collegiate players than it should.

Even Dabo Swinney weighs in.

"We just don't have the population, and then academically, we're near the bottom of the states," said Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. "There's as many good football players in this state per capita as anywhere, but there might only be 20 legit guys in a given year who can play at Clemson."

More after the jump...

The WSJ has also done me the favor of giving me a name to focus my anger at. Those that have followed the blog know that I don't believe in any curse surrounding our program and actually share quite a bit of disdain for those who do. Well, now I have an individual to blame for that sorry excuse of an... well... excuse.

Gamecock fans even have an explanation for their misery: the Chicken Curse. "I originally wrote that as a joke to show the power of negative thinking," said Doug Nye, the former sports editor of the now-defunct Columbia Record who is credited with popularizing the term.

Bastard.

Gameday - Georgia @ South Carolina | Best Game Day
Ever wonder wonder how a neutral observer feels about the game day experience at Williams-Brice? Well this blog has answered your prayers. All-in-all a pretty interesting read. The author makes some insightful statements:

One of the things that I said that I would be observing on these college gamedays are the women on campuses. the reason is simple, being neither a Florida or Florida St. fan, living in the state of Florida, I have heard fans of both schools claim they have the most attractive ladies. I have been to multiple games at both of those Florida schools. No disrespect, but South Carolina has you both beat, hands down.

And some less so:

Gamecock Quarterback Stephen Garcia is being talked about for the Heisman Trophy, and there is talk that this may be the best South Carolina team in a long time.

I honestly don't know where he got that idea from. He also settles a recent argument for us in the comments section.

"The South Carolina fans were very generous, very polite, and even were kind to the Georgia fans for the most part." I didn’t mention anything about the Georgia fans, who were, for the record, more rude than then SC fans.

So that's that. A neutral observer says that SC fans are no worse than any other fans. Apologies still go out to Audit Dawg, whose experience at Williams-Brice sounded particularly heinous.

Game 3 Preview USC vs. Furman | Leftover Hot Dog
LOHD has your Furman preview...

Know Your Opponent: Furman Paladins | Leftover Hot Dog
... and a Furman highlight video for your viewing pleasure.

Thursday's Practice Report | Rivals.com
Ellis Johnson talks about the improving health of Antonio Allen and Shaq Wilson. He also discusses the danger of underestimating Furman.

Coach Johnson said that physically Spur Antonio Allen is fine after missing the first two games with a hamstring injury. "Obviously he has not practiced in a long time and there's just a lot of little things he has to pick up on mentally. He did well physically all week."

ESPN adding extra dimension to USC/Auburn game | WIS News 10
Our game versus Auburn will be in 3D. Not that anyone cares because, honestly, who even has a 3D television?

South Carolina Gamecocks: Goals & Questions | Saturday Down South

Stamina is another interesting question, and was pretty well answered on Saturday. The fourth quarter will decide a lot of our games this season, and on Saturday the players seemed to understand this and displayed a level of fitness I had never seen out of a Carolina team.

In other words, do we have what it takes to stay competitive late in the season?

Gamecocks Fans Need To Dial It Down | Saturday Down South
For the record, though, not everyone believes this is the Gamecocks' year.

Five Questions With The Enemy | The Daily Gamecock
This is becoming a popular segment among sports writers these days. Worth a read, though.

2. For the unknowing USC fan, give us a player to watch for.

I’ll give you two, one defensive and one offensive. On the defensive side, keep an eye on middle linebacker Kadarron Anderson. Anderson, a junior, was named to the All-Southern Conference first team last season and was a preseason Sporting News All-American this season.

Taylor hopes to bring more pressure | The Daily Gamecock
Something tells me this column started out as an interview with Mr. "Dont-Say-Nothin" and then the author figured out that that might be hard to do.

BASEBALL

South Carolina prepares for repeat this fall | Rivals.com
Tanner on our pitching staff:

"We could have a predominately left-handed pitcher staff in the spring," he said. "Belcher is trying to rebound after not pitching a whole lot last season and Westmoreland is finally healthy again. Cook is another lefty that we’ve really liked this fall."

And it looks like Tanner has no plans to turn Roth into a pure hitter, as he (Roth) had hoped.

"The question for us is simple: Are Price and Roth starters? That situation boils down to what the rest of the pitching staff does this fall," he said. "Price and Roth are guys that give you different looks, while Koumas is a power arm that could give us some great relief work."

Good read. You should definitely read this whole article if you're a Gamecock baseball fan.

WOMEN'S SOCCER

No. 20 South Carolina Falls to No. 23 Minnesota, 3-1 | Gamecocks Online
Ouch. This one hurts.

MEN'S SOCCER

Men's Soccer Set To Host Gamecock Classic | Gamecocks Online
South Carolina will play Iona and UConn at the two-day event.